There are several mysteries mentioned in the New Testament. There is, unfortunately, some confusion concerning some of them. It is my hope that by looking at each mystery in its context, we might come to a better understanding of all of them. It is with that prayer, that I offer this study concerning the mysteries of the New Testament.

THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN

The mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven are the first ones mentioned in the New Testament. These mysteries are discussed in the paper on this web-site "The Kingdom Of Heaven". I will not repeat all the lessons of that study here. However, I believe that it is important to point out that a mystery can be completely hidden, as was true in the case of the dispensation of the mystery; but a mystery could also have been written about in the Old Testament, but not understood until it was explained.

The mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven were written about in the Old Testament, but evidently not understood. Indeed, even when our Lord revealed those mysteries, He did so only to His disciples, but kept them hidden from the crowds. We read in Matt. 13:10-12 our Lord's own testimony to that fact. "The disciples came to Him and asked, 'Why do you speak to the people in parables?' He replied, 'The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven has been given to you, but not to them".

Let us look at one of the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven as an example of a mystery that was written of in the Old Testament, but not understood until Christ revealed its meaning.

In Matthew 13:37-43 we read the explanation of the parable of the weeds. In verse 40 we see that "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out His angels and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil". In the paper mentioned above on the kingdom of Heaven, the reader will find the Scriptural evidence for my belief that the kingdom of Heaven is Christ's rule on earth centered in Jerusalem. Also, that the kingdom of Heaven is the Land of Israel during the millennium. Outside the Land of Israel the nations will not enjoy the millennial blessings that Israel does. They will be ruled with justice by Christ, but with an iron scepter, i.e. with a strong hand. Therefore, when Christ spoke of some being weeded out of the kingdom of Heaven, He was alluding to the prophecy that some of Israel would not be allowed entrance into the Land of Israel for His millennial reign.

When we turn to Ezekiel 20:34-38 we find the prophecy mentioned above. Verse 34 tells of the gathering of all Israel out from the nations at the beginning of the millennium. Verses 35-37 tell of the judgment of those gathered. In verse 38 we read, "I will purge you of those who revolt and rebel against me. Although I will bring them out of the land where they are living, they will not enter the land of Israel…..".

When we compare Matt. 13:43 with Ezek. 20: 38 we find that both verses refer to the fact that the unfaithful of Israel will not enter the land for the millennial reign of Christ, i.e. they will be "weeded out". We may conclude therefore, that even though the fact that some of Israel would not be allowed entrance into the kingdom of Heaven was a matter of prophecy, it was a mystery (our Lord spoke of the "mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven") because it was not understood. It is not my intention, in this paper, to comment on all the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. The paper mentioned above on the kingdom of Heaven gives a fuller explanation of those mysteries.

As we come now to the mysteries mentioned by the apostle Paul we will see that the mystery of Christ is alluded to several times in his Acts period epistles, but not called "the mystery of Christ" until Eph. 3:4. The mystery of Christ is, unfortunately, often confused with the dispensation of the mystery. That is to say, the mystery of Christ is misunderstood to include the dispensation of the mystery. It is said by some that the dispensation of the mystery was the "apex" of the mystery of Christ. But as the reader shall see as he/she continues in this study, the two mysteries of Ephesians three are totally unrelated in their very nature, and contradictory as to how they were revealed, and as to whom they were revealed. It is therefore, simply not possible to conclude that one was the apex of the other. In order to understand the mystery of Christ we must distinguish between it and the dispensation of the mystery. Because it is crucial to our understanding of all the mysteries, we will study the two mysteries of Ephesians three, first.

THE TWO MYSTERIES OF EPHESIANS THREE

Eph. 3:1-9, 1) "For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles (2) If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward; (3) How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery; as I wrote afore in few words, (4) Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ; (5) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; (6) That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel; (7) Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of His power, (8) Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; (9) And to make all men see what is the fellowship (dispensation - same word as in verse 2) of the mystery, which hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ".

Let us now turn our attention to verses 4-5. In verse 4 we read of the "mystery of Christ". In verse 5 we are told that this mystery "was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets". There are three things in these verses that are very important to note.

1. The Greek word translated "as" in the phrase "as it has now been revealed" is "hos" and is used as a comparison. It is used in I Cor.13:11, "When I was a child I spoke as a child…". To make this verse easier to understand let us add an ellipsis taken from the context. "When I was a child, I spake as a child, rather than as a man: I understood as a child, rather than as a man: I thought as a child, rather than as a man…" It is clear that Paul is making a comparison in these phrases between himself as a child and himself as a man. So too, in Eph. 3:5 the comparison is being made as to the extent to which the mystery of Christ had been revealed. That is to say, that the mystery of Christ had been revealed to some extent, but not to the extent that it has "now been revealed". This is an extremely important fact to note about the mystery of Christ, because, as we read in verse 9, the dispensation of the mystery had been hid in God and therefore had obviously not been revealed to any extent.

2. The mystery of Christ was revealed to "apostles and prophets", note the plural. But the dispensation of the mystery was revealed to the apostle Paul only.

3. The Greek word translated "revealed" in the phrase, "as it is has now been revealed" is "apokalupto", and it is the verb form of the same word used in verse 3 where we read of "the mystery made known to me (Paul) by revelation". This tells us that the apostles and prophets received their revelation of the mystery in the same way that Paul received his, i.e. not by the teaching of man, but by revelation from God. We must conclude therefore, that the mystery of verse 5 (the mystery of Christ) was revealed to the apostles and prophets by God, not by Paul's teachings. But we do not read anywhere in God's Word of the dispensation of the mystery being revealed to anyone but Paul. Therefore, the mystery that was revealed to the apostles and prophets was not the dispensation of the mystery.

These three points by themselves make it clear that the mystery of Christ is not the same mystery as is the dispensation of the mystery. Let us continue with still more Scriptural evidence that proves that fact.

The phrase, "mystery of Christ" occurs also in Col. 4:3, "…praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds". Paul was in bonds for preaching the mystery of Christ. By determining the specific reasons for Paul's bonds, we can then determine what the mystery of Christ is.

We read in Acts chapters 21-25 of Paul's experiences that resulted in his being put in bonds. In Acts 21:27-28 we read of the first step in Paul's eventual imprisonment. "And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him (Paul) in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, crying out: 'Men of Israel, help: This is the man that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place and further, brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place". So then, the first step that led to Paul's imprisonment was the false accusation that he had taught things contrary to the law and had polluted the temple by bringing Greeks into it.

In Acts 22:21 we read the close of Paul's arguments to the Jews. "And He said unto me, 'Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles". And verse 22 describes their reaction to that statement. "And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices and said, 'Away with such a fellow from the earth for it is not fit that he should live". Here again, we learn that the reason for Paul's bonds was that he preached to the Gentiles. (We should point out that preaching to Gentiles was not a mystery hid in God, as was the dispensation of the mystery. That Christ would be preached to the Gentiles was very clearly stated by Isaiah in chapter 49 verse 6, "……I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that Thou mayest be My Salvation unto the end of the earth". Also, we are never told in God's Word that the preaching to the Gentiles was a mystery.)

In Acts 23 we read of Paul's discourse to the council of Jews. Verse 6, "But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, 'Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question".

In Acts 23:29 we read of the letter written by a soldier to Felix about Paul's being sent to Felix, which reads in part, "Whom (Paul) I perceived to be accused of questions of their law….".

We learn from the Scriptures quoted above that Paul was placed in bonds because he was being falsely accused of teaching things contrary to the Law of Moses: and because he had supposedly polluted the temple by bringing Greeks into that part of the temple in which they were not supposed to be. Another reason for his bonds was that he was preaching the resurrection of the dead.

Let us continue our study of the mystery of Christ by considering other passages in which Paul speaks of his bonds. In Phil 1:12-18 we read of Paul's account of how his being in bonds has led to the "furtherance of the gospel" (1:13). To which gospel was Paul referring? In verses 14 and 15 Paul writes of those who "preach Christ" (verse 15) some for honest reasons and others out of contention. In verse 18 he sums up the two and writes, "..…whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached".

We learn from this passage in Philippians chapter one, that Paul's imprisonment led others to "preach Christ". The subject of this entire passage is the preaching of Christ. We must conclude then, that the reason Paul was in prison was not because of the gospel of the dispensation of the mystery, but because of the preaching of Christ.

The dispensation of the mystery has to do with how God deals with the nations, i.e. equally. And that came about as a result of Israel's rejection of Her risen Messiah during the Acts period. It is clear, in my opinion, that the present dispensation does not rest on the work and Person of Christ. Of course, the salvation of those called out during this dispensation rests completely on the work and Person of Jesus Christ, but that is not the same truth as is the way in which God deals (i.e. the dispensation) with the nations.

Let us continue with the reasons for Paul's imprisonment. We read in Eph. 6:19-20, "….that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds….". Again, we must ask, for which gospel was Paul in bonds? That answer is found in II Tim. 2:8-9, "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evil doer, even unto bonds…". The only gospel that we are told Paul was in bonds for, was "my gospel". "My gospel" was the preaching of Christ as the Son of David and the preaching of the resurrection of the dead. Paul also writes of "my gospel in Romans 2:16, "In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel". He also mentions it in Romans 16:25, "Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and (should be "even") the preaching of Jesus Christ ….". So the phrase "my gospel" includes resurrection and judgment.

Let us try to pull together what we have learned. Why was Paul in bonds? Paul was in bonds because he preached Christ and His salvation to the Gentiles (which was certainly not a secret hid in God): because he preached the resurrection of the dead, because he preached the judgment by Christ: and because he preached about Christ, the Son of David. In short, Paul was imprisoned not because he preached the gospel of the dispensation of the mystery, but because he preached the mystery of Christ.

Let us search the Scriptures to find other passages that will tell us more about the mystery of Christ. A mystery is something that is concealed, or it can also be something that is revealed to a few, as in the case of the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven. "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given" (Matt. 13:11).

We must bear in mind that the mystery of Christ was: a) revealed to some extent in the Old Testament, b) but "now" made known to apostles and prophets (plural), c) revealed to them by the Spirit by revelation, not by the teaching of man (Eph. 3:4-5). Let us look at Luke 18:31-34 to see if what we find there will fit the criteria of the "mystery of Christ". "Then He took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, 'Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man shall be accomplished. For He shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully intreated, and spit on; And they shall scourge Him and put Him to death; and the third day He shall rise again'. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken".

The disciples did not understand any of the prophecies concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. I believe that those events, plus the reasons for Paul's bonds (which correspond with the teachings of Christ's death and resurrection) constitute the mystery of Christ. We have read that it was concealed from the 12, that makes it a mystery. We also see that it was the topic of some prophecy, that satisfies the criteria of it being revealed to some extent (see for example, Is. 53, crucifixion; Luke 11:30, burial; and Lev. 16:8-10, resurrection - by type). And we know, of course, that eventually Christ's death, burial and resurrection were revealed fully, which satisfies the criteria of being unfolded more completely in Paul's time. I believe therefore, that the mystery of Christ spoken of in Eph. 3:4-5, is, basically, His death, burial and resurrection. This is substantiated by the fact that Paul was in bonds for the mystery of Christ (Col. 3:4) and we have learned the specific reasons for his being in bonds, i.e. because he preached Christ to the Gentiles, and because he preached His resurrection and judgment.

The dispensation of the mystery as described in Eph. 3:6, is the mystery that was revealed to Paul. Note, it was revealed to Paul alone, not to the apostles and prophets (plural). We learn in verse 9 that this mystery was "hid in God" (not revealed in any degree to other generations). That mystery is that "nations are joint-heirs and joint bodies, even joint partakers of the promise...." ( Eph.3:6). See the section below for the reasons for this translation.

There are two mysteries in Eph. 3. One is the mystery of Christ, which was known to some degree in past generations, and the other was the mystery, hid in God, i.e. not known in past generations to any degree. The mystery of Christ was not understood, but it was written about in the Old Testament. The dispensation of the mystery, on the other hand, was not written about in the Old Testament and revealed by God to Paul only.

In the interest of clarifying a very complex passage, I would like to suggest adding a parenthesis in Eph. 3. So that passage would read, "Surely you have heard about the administration (dispensation) of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. (In reading this then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets) This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus".

THE DISPENSATION OF THE MYSTERY- EPH. 3:6

In order to understand the dispensation of the mystery we must understand what differentiates the dispensation of the mystery from all other dispensations. That difference is given in Eph. 3:6. "That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, same body, even joint partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel". A better understanding of some of the Greek words used in this verse will help a great deal in our understanding of just what that mystery was.

The three Greek words translated "fellow-heirs", "same body" and "partakers" are, "sunkleronoma", "sussomos" and "sunmetocha" respectively. Note that each begins with the preposition "sun" (The prefix in the word "sussomos" is spelled differently, but is the same prefix as is used by the other two words under consideration.) Appendix 104 in the Companion Bible gives the definition of "sun" as:  "denotes proximity to and hence conjunction or coherence".  Webster’s Dictionary defines "conjunction" as, "state of being conjoined; union". Otis Q. Sellers defines "sun" in these words, "Literally ..means ‘together’, and while it is often translated ‘with’, it denotes a far more intimate association then is expressed by ‘with".

The correct definition of the prefix "sun" plus the fact that "sussomos" is a plural adjective makes it clear that "same body" is not the best translation of "sussomos". That is to say, because "sun" means "conjoined" or "union" etc., and because "sussomos" is a plural adjective, obviously there must be more than one "body" that is joined together. In the translation "same body" there is no sense of joining together and no sense of the plurality of the adjective.  A better translation of "sussomos" is "joint bodies".  The question is then: who, or what, is joined to whom or what?

To help us answer that question we should note that the adjective "sussomos" agrees with the noun "ethnos", translated "Gentiles" in Eph. 3:6, so "ethnos" are fellow-heirs etc. Once we determine what is meant by "ethnos" we will understand what is joined together.  "Ethnos" occurs 164 times and is translated "Gentiles" 93 times, "nations" 64 times, "Heathen 5 times and "people" 2 times. Does the Greek "ethnos" in Eph. 3:6 mean individual Gentiles or does it mean nations?  In order to answer that question we must first understand that the prefix "sun" as it is used in Ephesians 3:6 gives us one of the most profound truths of the Bible.

That truth is that 1) ethnos are joint-heirs, i.e. none are favored over another, 2) ethnos are joint bodies, none are favored over another. 3) ethnos are joint partakers of the promises in Christ; i.e. none are partaking of a promise made to another. So then "ethnos" are joined together as equals. I believe that it is obvious that Gentiles were always equal with each other which should cause us to at least question the translation of "ethnos" as "Gentiles". I believe that "ethnos" should be translated "nations" in Eph. 3:6. That nations are all equal is a truth that was never even hinted at before that secret was revealed to Paul. And it stands in sharp contrast to the situation as it existed before the dispensation of the mystery. Before the dispensation of the mystery Israel was the "apple of His eye", She was His favored nation. With the putting aside of Israel at Acts 28:28 all nations are now equal in God's sight, there is no nation favored above another.

The NIV translation of Eph. 3:6 is interesting because it tries to justify the translation of "ethnos" as "Gentiles" by adding several words that do not appear in the manuscripts. It reads, "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus". The word "Israel" is not in any manuscript. And the phrase " members of one" are not in any manuscripts. While it is true that often times an ellipsis is added in the translation in order to make sense to the English reader, the translation of "ethnos" is the only element that demands the added words to the original. If "ethnos" had been translated "nations" the addition of words that are not found in the original would not have been necessary.

Let us try to summarize what we have learned by a different translation of Eph. 3:6, one that more accurately represents the meaning of the original Greek. "That the nations should be joint (equal) heirs, joint bodies (equal nations) and joint (equal) partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel".

THE MYSTERY OF ROMANS 11:25

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in you own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in". There is no doubt as to what this mystery is, as Paul explains exactly what it is: "that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in".

Two things should be noted about this mystery. One is that Paul says, "blindness in part has happened to Israel". This, together with Romans 11:1 where we read, "Hath God cast away His people? God forbid", tells us that, as of the writing of Romans, Israel was still God's people.

The second phrase of this mystery is also worthy of note, "until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in". Some Bible scholars believe that Gentiles in the dispensation of the mystery are included in the phrase "fullness of the Gentiles". That is to say, that the fullness of the Gentiles include the Gentiles who accept Christ in the dispensation of the mystery. I respectfully disagree with that view and I offer the following reasons for that disagreement for the reader's consideration.

When Paul wrote the epistle to the Romans he had no idea of the dispensation of the mystery, as it was still hid in God. Paul therefore, could not have included the members of a church which, in his mind, did not exist. We read of phrases similar to the one found in Romans 11 ("the fullness of the Gentiles") in other Scriptures, but never in the epistles written to the church, which is His body. In short, there is no Scriptural evidence to connect this phrase with the Gentiles of the dispensation of the mystery. Furthermore, as we continue in this study, the reader will see that the "fulness of the Gentiles" refers to the millennium.

Those who include the Gentiles of the dispensation of the mystery in "the fullness of the Gentiles" point to Luke 21:24 as referring to the same idea. It should however be noted that the "times of the Gentiles" does not have the exact same meaning as "the fulness of the Gentiles". But for the sake of thoroughness, we will examine Luke 21:24. "And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled". They believe that Luke 21:24 refers to the destruction of Jerualem in 70 AD. If that were true (which I do not think it is) then "the times of the Gentiles" could indeed refer to the dispensation of the mystery. But to what period in God's history does the phrase "the times of the Gentiles" refer? In order to answer that question we must examine the context of Luke 21:24.

Verses 7-36 give an account of our Lord's telling His disciples of the great tribulation. Note especially verse 7, "Master….what signs will there be when these things come to pass?" Verse 8, "…Many shall come in My Name saying, 'I am Christ….". Verse 9, "…ye shall hear of wars and commotion's..". Verse 10, "….Nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom". Verse 12, "But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you and persecute you…". Verse 17, "Ye shall be hated of all men for My Name's sake". Verse 20, "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains: and let them which are in the midst of it depart out: and let not then that are in the countries enter thereinto". Verses 23-24, "But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days, for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled".

This passage has to do with the tribulation period. To read into this passage the inclusion of Gentiles of the dispensation of the mystery, is to ignore the context. In this passage the phrase, "the times of the Gentiles" has nothing to do with Gentiles in the dispensation of the mystery. It has to do with the dispensation described as the great distress, i.e.tribulation.(Please see the paper on this web-site,W hen are The Times Of The Gentiles? for a more compete study of this topic.)

Another passage that a has phrase similar to "the fulness of the Gentiles" is Acts 15:16-17. "After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down: and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom My name is called, saith the Lord, Who doeth all these things". This is quoted from Amos 9:11-12. To whom does the phrase, " Gentiles upon whom My Name is called" refer? We read in Deut. 28:10, "And all peoples of the earth shall see that thou (Israel) art called by the name of the Lord.....". Israel was "called by the name of the Lord". What does that mean? In my opinion, it means that believing Israel was God's People. So in Amos 9 and Acts 15 the Gentiles who are called by "My name" are believing Gentiles.

Now we are ready to examine the context of Amos 9:11-12 in order to determine to which period in God's history this prophecy refers. The prophecy refers to millennial times. The evidence of that is found in verse 15 of Amos 9, "And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God". The "residue of men" refers to the remnant of Israel. And "all the Gentiles upon whom My name is called" are believing Gentiles, i.e. those Gentiles who beleived in the One True God of Israel. These are the Gentiles of the millennial reign of Christ.

Let us go back to Romans 11 to see if this suggestion fits the context of that passage. Verses 25-26, "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits: that the blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written....". At that point Paul quotes Is. 59:20-21. It is generally assumed that the phrase "all Israel shall be saved" refers to salvation from the grave. But the context of the passage from which verses 26-27 is quoted has nothing to do with salvation from the grave, it has do with salvation from the tribulation. Is. 59:19b-20 reads, "....When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.. And the Redeemer shall come to Zion.......". The Redeeemer coming to Zion is an obvious reference to Christ's second coming to set up His millennial reign. It is that coming that will save believing Israel from the day of the Lord's vengence which follows the tribulation. So the blindness in part of Israel will end when "the Redeemer shall come to Zion" i.e. at the millennium, and the fulness of the Gentiles will be realized in the millennium.

Perhaps a paraphrase of Romans 11:25-26 will be helpful. "For I would not bretheren, that ye should be ignosrant of this mystery....... that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the Redeemer comes, and at that time, the fulness of the Gentiles will be come".

ROMANS 16:25-26

"Now to Him That is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept secret since the world began. But now is made manifest and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith".

The question is, which mystery is being spoken of in these verses. Is it the dispensation of the mystery of which Paul wrote in Eph. 3:6? There are several clues in the verses themselves that will help in our consideration of this question.

Consider the opening of this passage, "Now to Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel….". Paul uses the phrase "my gospel" three times: here in Romans 16, in Romans 2:16 and in II Tim. 2:8.

Romans 2:16, "This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares." To what is Paul referring when he writes "This will take place". He is referring to verse 13 where we read, "For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous". So in this context the term "my gospel" refers to the judgment of Israel.We know that it is Israel that will be judged because it is Israel alone that was obligated to observe the law.

The other reference to "my gospel" is found in II Tim. 2:8 where we read, "Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel".

We are not left with any doubt as to what Paul meant by the term "my gospel". It referred to the judgment of Israel and the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

We have learned that when Paul uses the term "my gospel" he is not referring to the dispensation of the mystery. In fact, as we discovered in the section above, "my gospel" refers, in part, to the mystery of Christ.

Let us try to pull together what we have learned in order to discover if the mystery of Romans 16 is the dispensation of the mystery.
1. The mystery of Romans 16 is referred to as "my gospel" the nature of which is explained in Rom. 2:16 and II Tim. 2:8. It has nothing to do with the dispensation of the mystery as described in Eph. 3:6. "My gospel" has to do with judgment of Israel and the resurrection of Christ.

2. The mystery of Romans 16 had been revealed by "prophetic writings". There is absolutely nothing before Romans 16 which even hints of the dispensation of the mystery spoken of in the prison epistles.
We must conclude therefore, that the mystery spoken of in Romans 16 is not the dispensation of the mystery.

Having said that the mystery of Romans 16 is not the dispensation of the mystery revealed to Paul after Acts 28, let us address the question of what is the mystery of Romans 16?

First, the word translated "and" in the phrase, "according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ" can also be translated "even". "My gospel" is, in part, the resurrection of Christ. Therefore, I believe that "and" should have been translated "even" so the phrase should read, "according to my gospel, even the preaching of Jesus Christ". When we studied the mystery of Christ we saw that that mystery had to do with the death and resurrection of Christ. Therefore, I believe that the mystery of Romans 16 is the mystery of Christ. That is to say, the mystery of Christ concerns the death and resurrection of Christ. "My gospel" is described in Romans 16 as the "preaching of Jesus Christ" and in II Tim. 2 we learned that it had to do with the resurrection of Christ. Therefore, the mystery of Romans 16 is the mystery of Christ, which has to do with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, not the dispensation of the mystery.

Let us also consider verse 26, where Paul writes that the mystery of verse 25 "is now made manifest by prophetic writings" and "made known to all nations for obedience of faith". The dispensation of the mystery is the description of the present dispensation in which all nations are equal (Eph. 3:6). The revelation of that mystery was not made manifest by prophetic writings prior to Acts 28 and, in my opinion, does not lead to "the obedience of faith". On the other hand, the mystery of Christ, which is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was made known by prophetic writings (but was not understood before His death and resurrection). And the revelation of the mystery of Christ certainly should lead to "the obedience of faith".

I CORINTHIANS 2:7

"But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory".

Some Bible students believe that the mystery of I Cor. 2:7 is the dispensation of the mystery revealed to Paul after Acts 28. In my opinion, the context refutes that position. For example, Paul writes that if the princes of the world had known of this mystery they would not have crucified the "Lord of glory". The Lord was not crucified because the "princes of this world" did not know of the dispensation of the mystery. Not only had that mystery not even been revealed, but Paul, to whom the mystery was to be revealed, had not even been converted at the time of the crucifixion.

Also, the dispensation of the mystery has to do with God's dealing with the nations equally. The understanding of that mystery has nothing to do with "our glory", it has only to do with how God is dealing with the nations in this present dispensation. (Please the section on Ephesians 3:6 above.)

What then, is the mystery alluded to in I Cor. 2:7? Let us examine the context for the answer to that question.

Paul's point in the first eight verses of this chapter is that their "faith should not stand on the wisdom of men, but in the power of God" (verse 5). Paul, therefore, makes no apology for the fact that he came to them "not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God". What was it that he declared unto them? We are told in verse 2 what Paul preached to the Corinthians: "For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified".

In other words, the context tells us exactly what Paul preached to the Corinthians; he preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified. This is the mystery of Christ. We must conclude therefore, that it was the mystery of Christ that Paul refers to I Cor. 2:7.

Let us also consider the phrase "which God ordained before the world". The Greek word translated "world" in this verse is "aion" and should be translated "age" as the NIV does in verse 6. The NIV translates "aion" as "time" in verse 8, but "age" would have been a more consistent translation. The question is: before which age did God ordain this mystery? Note the context. Verse 6 speaks of the "princes of this age". and verse 8 speaks of the princes of this age who had "crucified the Lord of glory". The age from which this mystery had been hidden was the age of the crucifixion of Christ.

I CORINTHIANS 4:1

"Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God". Obviously the "mysteries of God" are those mysteries which had been revealed to Paul up to the point of his writing the first letter to the Corinthians. There is no mention of the dispensation of the mystery until after Acts 28, i.e. in his letter to the Ephesians. Therefore, the "mysteries of God" mentioned in this verse do not include the dispensation of the mystery.

What are the "mysteries of God" which had already been revealed when Paul wrote I Corinthians? They are the mysteries concerning the death and resurrection of Christ. Paul refers to these mysteries in Eph. 3:4 as "the mystery of Christ".

I CORINTHIANS 13:2

"Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge…..". Obviously, once again Paul is referring to the mysteries that had been revealed to him up to the point of his writing his first letter to the Corinthians.

I CORINTHIANS 14:2

"For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries. There are no specific mysteries mentioned in this verse.

I CORINTHIANS 15:51-52

"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed".

This mystery is explained in the immediate context and needs no further explanation.

EPHESIANS 1:9-10

"Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself; that in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth: even in Him".

The mystery of His will is explained in the immediate context. It is that all things in heaven and earth will be gathered together in one, in Christ. Again, no further explanation is necessary.

EPHESIANS 5:32

"This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church".

What is the mystery concerning Christ and the church? Let us examine the context for the answer to that question. Verse 30, "For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones". In Eph. 1:22-23 we read, "And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the church, which is His body….".

We learn from these passages that the church of the dispensation of the mystery is the body of Christ; that each member of the church is a member of His body. Because the dispensation of the mystery was a mystery hid in God (Eph. 3:9), it makes perfect sense that the church, called in that dispensation, was also a mystery. And so we see in Eph. 5 that the fact that the church in the dispensation of the mystery would be His body was also a mystery.

EPHESIANS 6:19-20

Praying "for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds…..".

For which gospel was Paul in bonds? Many assume that it was for the gospel of the dispensation of the mystery that Paul was in bonds. But as we discussed in the section above under the heading "The Two Mysteries Of Ephesians Three", Paul was in bonds for the mystery of Christ, not for the gospel of the dispensation of the mystery.

COLOSSIANS I: 25-27

"Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God; even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints, to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you, the hope of glory". (The Greek word translated "in" is "en" and could, according to the Companion Bible Appendix six, be translated "among" when used of a plural noun. Therefore, the last phrase of this verse could be read, "Christ among you the hope of glory.)

There is only one mystery that we are told of that had been hid in God. That is the dispensation of the mystery (Eph. 3:9). We must conclude therefore, that the mystery to which Paul alludes in this passage is the dispensation of the mystery.

However, Paul describes this mystery in a slightly different light than he does in Ephesians 3:6. That is to say, in Eph. 3:6 Paul writes of the mystery in terms of nations being equal. Here in Colossians one, Paul describes the mystery in terms of blessings for the individual Gentile, i.e. Christ being among the Gentiles, the hope of glory.

There is, of course, no contradiction in these two passages. In Ephesians Paul writes of nations being equal. In Colossians he writes of the fact that because the nations are equal in the dispensation of the mystery, Christ is the hope of glory among all individual Gentiles. This is in contrast to earlier dispensations when Gentiles had to become proselytes, as in Old Testament times, or were grafted into the nation of Israel, as in the Acts period.

COLOSSIANS 2:2

"That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ".

First, we must understand that the texts (according to the note in the Companion Bible) read, "the mystery of God, even Christ". This brings us to I Tim. 3:16, "And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory".

The mystery of God, even Christ is, in my opinion, the mystery of godliness, i.e. that God was manifest in the flesh etc.

COLOSSIANS 4:3

"Praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds".

The mystery of Christ has been discussed above in the section "The Two Mysteries Of Ephesians Three".

II THESSALONIANS 2:7

"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming".

We read in the immediate context of Paul's warning: "Let no man deceive you…for that day shall not come except the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped: and that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is God" (verses 3-5).

It is clear that the "mystery of iniquity" concerns the antichrist. Paul's warning is to make them aware that iniquity will increase, but that they should not be concerned with whether the rapture had passed, because the antichrist had not yet appeared, and that when he does, he will be destroyed at the coming of the Lord.

I TIMOTHY 3:9

"Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience". We are not told in the context what the mystery of the faith is. Neither do we find this phrase anywhere else in God's Word. What is the mystery of the faith? As we have studied the mysteries of the New Testament we have seen that most of the time, when a mystery was alluded to, it had to do with the mystery of Christ. I could not say with any sense of surety what the "mystery of faith" is, but I believe that it may be the mystery concerning His death and resurrection as those two facts are certainly at the very center of all believers' faith.

I TIMOTHY 3:16

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory".

I'm sure I was not the only one to assume that the mystery of godliness is explained in this verse, and it is that God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. However, in considering the usage by the Holy Spirit of the Greek word translated "godliness" it is clear that God being manifest in the flesh etc. is not the mystery of godliness.

The Greek word translated "godliness is "usebia". The first occurrence is in Acts 3:12 where we read, "And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, 'Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this: or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?'" "Usebia" is translated "holiness" in this verse. I believe that if we look at several more verses in which the Greek word is used the reader will have a better sense of how the Holy Spirit means for us to understand it.

I Tim. 2:2, "...that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty".

I Tim. 4:7-8, "But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself unto all godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things...."

I Tim. 6:5-6 "Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself. But godliness with contentment is great gain".

The Strong's Concordance tells us that the Greek word is derived from the Greek word translated "piety. In my opinion that definition, together with the usage as shown in the verses quoted above, tells us that the "mystery of godliness" has nothing to do with God manifest in the flesh.

How are we to gain an understanding of the phrase "mystery of godliness"? From the context. We read in verses 14-15, "These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly. But if I tarry long that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness". I suggest that the mystery of godliness is connected to how one should behave in the house of God. If we leave off the parenthetical statement at the end of verse 15 we will read, "...that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God ...... and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness". In other words, I believe Paul is saying that all the things that he had written were to tell all believers how they ought to behave in the house of God. One behaves in a god-like manner in the house of God, i.e. in all godliness.

I believe that verse 16b goes with 4:1 and begins an entirely new and different thought. That would read then, "God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith....". In other words, Paul expresses the tenants of the faith and then warns against those who will depart from it.

We read in John chapter four, verses 9-26 of a conversation that our Lord had with a Samaritan woman about where one should worship God. Verses 23-24 tell us of true worship. "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth".

We learned from the paragraphs and quotes above that the mystery of godliness is connected to how one is to conduct himself in the house of God. I believe that Jn. 4:23-24 gives us the explanation how one is to worship God. Therefore, I think we may conclude that of the mystery of godliness is that God is to be worshiped in spirit. The reason it is said to be a mystery is because Old Testament worship centered around very concrete things such as sacrifices, strict observance of various festival days and the sabbath. In other words, the emphasis was not on worshipping God in spirit, therefore it was a mystery revealed by our Lord in John chapter four.

REVELATION 1:20

"The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches".

Again, this mystery is explained and needs no further comment.

REVELATION 10:7

"But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared to his servants the prophets".

If we determine what is finished as the seventh trumpet is sounded by the seventh angel, we will learn what the "mystery of God" is. For that we will look at Rev. 11:15, ""And the seventh angel sounded: and there were great voices in heaven, saying, 'The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever".

The mystery of God then, refers to God's plans and purposes as revealed by the prophets. Those plans are that Christ would rule over the nations of the world.

REVELATION 17:5

"And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abomination of the earth".

We learn about the mystery Babylon in the context. Note verse 7, "….I will tell thee of the mystery of the woman and the beast that carrieth her…". Verse 9, "…..The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth". Verse 15, "And he saith unto me, 'The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples and multitudes, and nation, and tongues. Verse 16, "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire". Verse 18, "and the woman which thou sawest is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth".

The woman of this passage is the city called here "Babylon". What can we learn of that city? Rev. 18:3 tells us, "For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies".

18:1-3. "….Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a hount for every unclean and detestable bird, For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries with her…".

In 18:24 we read, "In her was found the blood of prophets and of the saints, and of all who have been killed on the earth".

In 19:2 we read, "….He has condemned the great prostitute, who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants."

Babylon is a city that will be thriving in the yet future, day of the Lord. It will be the seat of the beast and will be destroyed when our Lord returns.

CONCLUSION

As I have studied the mysteries of the New Testament I have been struck by the fact that the mysteries having to do with the resurrection of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ were mentioned or alluded to more than any other mystery. This seems, in my opinion, to be extremely appropriate. Our salvation rests upon His death and resurrection; there is nothing more important or more fundamental than that.

Some have referred to the dispensation of the mystery as "the great mystery". Of course, it is important in terms of God's plans and purposes for the ages, and I would not, for one minute, deny its importance. But it is the mystery of Christ, i.e. His death and resurrection, that is alluded to as a mystery more than any other. Therefore, in my opinion, if there is "the great mystery" of the New Testament, I would say that it was not the dispensation of the mystery, but the mysteries concerning His death and resurrection, i.e. the mystery of Christ.